Annual river cleanup starts early with unhoused participation
The Daily Sentinel, by Jace DiCola
Ahead of Saturday’s 22nd annual community cleanup of the Colorado River, a new effort is underway, enabling unhoused individuals camping along the riverside to kickstart the spring cleaning.
Building Understanding, Strengthening Response: How Grand Junction, CO Came Together to Develop the Unhoused Survey, Needs Assessment and Strategy
Ashley Chambers
Since 2023, Grand Junction, Colo. has undertaken significant collaborative efforts to better understand and respond to the experiences of people who are unhoused in our community. Across nonprofits, healthcare providers, outreach teams, public agencies and residents, a shared goal emerged: to replace assumptions with real data, elevate lived experience and create coordinated strategies that match the scale of need.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Chamaine Ready
Apply this framework to a community in crisis. One wouldn’t typically apply this to how a community responds to say, a natural disaster. However, in the current climate of homelessness, the mindset “not in my backyard” is common, which essentially means “out of sight, out of mind”. It’s true that unhoused living is messy, unstable, unpredictable, impacts economic growth and interferes with the way people enjoy life. Unhoused living can also be unhealthy and dangerous. Certainly, there is no question that unhoused living is complicated.
United Way of Mesa County Service Hub Focuses on Collaborative Care for Our Homeless Neighbors
Kyra Seppie
United Way of Mesa County (UWMC) works with community partners to facilitate a centralized location for individuals experiencing homelessness to receive services.
Building Change Together: Policy & Public Engagement in Rural Communities
The Mesa County Collaboration for the Unhoused (MCCUH) has launched nine work groups as part of the Unhoused Strategic Plan 2024–2027. Each group focuses on a different piece of the puzzle, from housing to services to data. The Policy and Public Engagement Work Group stands out because it helps set the tone for the entire effort. Its job is to make sure our community’s policies support solutions that last—and that the public is engaged every step of the way. By working alongside the eight other groups, it helps keep the big picture moving forward.